request: Hiii! Can I please request a royal!au with Steve or Bucky (maybe both? Idk it's up to u) with soooooo muchhhh Angsttttt? I have no idea for the story tho! - anon
pairing: servant!steve rogers x princess!reader; prince!bucky barnes x princess!reader
summary: steve was the one you loved, but prince james was the one you were to marry.
word count: 1,541
warnings?: angst, pet name (my dove) not proofread
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This should have been the happiest day of your life. In some ways, it was. Marrying Prince James, the heir to the throne, the man who will be king, was something any woman in the kingdom dreamed of. And yet, you found yourself wishing that, perhaps, you lived in a world where you weren't his betrothed.
It wasn't that James was a bad guy. It's just...you always thought of him as Bucky, the boy you played with when you were little. Back when you weren't forced into stuffy meetings and crowded balls, when you could run and play. When you weren't reminded to "act like a lady", to always be on your best behavior, to keep your mouth shut so you wouldn't step on any toes. Heaven forbid that you speak your mind.
When you were told that James had asked for your hand, you bit your tongue. Said that you were overjoyed and that you would accept his proposal. But really, you were dying inside. James was the perfect man—had the best title in all the land, from a good family, wealthy, powerful. He was every woman's dream. Every woman's dream, except for yours.
A part of you felt shameful for falling for a servant, if only because you knew it could never be. You had no brothers. You couldn't afford to step out of line. You had to think of your younger sisters. Anything you did would affect their marriage prospects, and you would forever feel guilty if you were the reason their future proposals were squandered.
But Steve...He was everything you wanted. He was brave and strong. He stood up for what he believed in. He didn't care for bullies. In fact, that was what drew you to him in the first place. You were younger, perhaps fourteen or fifteen, and snuck down to the kitchens for a midnight snack. One of the other servants hadn't realized who you were and began to berate you for taking food. But Steve stepped in without hesitation, knocking the other servant back down a few pegs. Then, when the other servant was thoroughly shamed, Steve turned to you and offered to fix you anything you liked.
After that, you were always finding excuses to come down to the kitchens, to talk to Steve, to just see him one more time. For nearly a decade, you found excuses to see him again, telling yourself each time it was the last, that you would let him down gently so as to not break his heart down the road. But, every time you went, he pulled you back in. It was easy to fall in love with Steve. It felt as natural as breathing. And he loved you, too. Though you both knew it could never be, you would spend hours talking about a future where you could run away with him, go far away from the palace, and live a life where you two only needed each other and that was enough.
